THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PERMENANT 
COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


By 

JOHN BASSETT MOORE 

- * 



Reprinted from Columbia Law Review 
(Vol. XXII.No. 6, June 1922) 

r 






























THE ORGANIZATION OF THE PERMANENT COURT 

OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


In order to estimate the precise significance of the addition of the 
Permanent Court of International Justice to the previously existing 
agencies for the peaceful settlement of international differences, it is 
necessary to know something not only of its constitution, rules and per¬ 
sonnel, but also of its antecedents. 

The amicable methods of settling international disputes are negotia¬ 
tion, good offices, mediation, and arbitration. Negotiation, which repre¬ 
sents the ordinary process of diplomacy, we have always with us. Good 
offices and mediation, although essentially diplomatic, involve the inter¬ 
position of a common friend and adviser, who, if he only uses “good 
offices,” may even serve merely as a channel of communication, but who, 
if he acts as a “mediator,” is supposed to give his counsel to the parties 
and to propose terms of settlement. On the other hand, arbitration is 
and always has been considered in international law as a judicial process. 
While the mediator recommends, it is the function of the arbitrator to 
decide. The term arbitration has been applied to the judicial process in 
international relations because, in the absence of a tribunal with a fixed 
personnel, it remained for the parties in each case to choose the judges 
who were to decide the dispute. 

The determination of international controversies by arbitration runs 
back to a very early time. It was extensively practiced among the 
Greeks, with much definiteness and precision, and with an intelligent 
understanding of its essentially judicial character. Its employment 
naturally increased with the continuance of a state of peace. With the 
recurrence of wars and the incidental suspension of peaceful processes, 
the practice of arbitration would temporarily disappear. During the 
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, because of the warlike conditions 
which so persistently prevailed, we find only slight traces of it. Its 
effective resuscitation in comparatively recent times may be said to have 
begun with the treaty between Great Britain and the United States of 
November 19, 1794, commonly called in the United States the Jay 
Treaty, which provided for three distinct arbitrations, one of which may 
be rated among the most important ever held. During the nineteenth 
century the resort to international arbitration became more and more 
frequent. Especially was this the case after the settlement of the grave 
controversy between the United States and Great Britain, growing out of 
the so-called Alabama Claims, by the tribunal at Geneva in 1872. 

The increase in the practice of international arbitration gave rise to 


2 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


efforts to bring about the conclusion of general treaties of arbitration 

between particular countries; but we may at once say that the highest 
achievement in the nineteenth century in the direction of creating a 
permanent plan for the peaceful disposition of international controversies 
was the conclusion at The Hague on July 29, 1899, of the treaty officially 
styled the “Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Dis¬ 
putes.” This convention, which was renewed in 1907 and is still in 
force, represented an advance in three distinct particulars, in that it (1) 
enjoined and regulated the employment of mediation, (2) provided for 
the appointment, when occasion should arise, of international commis¬ 
sions of inquiry to investigate and report upon controverted facts, and (3) 
established the constitution and procedure of the tribunal called the 
“Permanent Court of Arbitration,” whose seat is at The Hague. It was 
stipulated that this tribunal should be “accessible at all times and operat¬ 
ing.” It is also to be observed that the convention expressly declared that 
the object of international arbitration, which the tribunal was to ad¬ 
minister, was “the settlement of differences between states by judges of 
their own choice, and on the basis of respect for law.” 

Of the Permanent Court of Arbitration I have naught to say but in 
commendation. The Permanent Court of International Justice, whose 
seat is also at The Hague, does not supersede it, but is, as its charter 
expressly declares, “in addition” to the older tribunal. But the Perma¬ 
nent Court of Arbitration is not a court in the ordinary sense. Under 
its conventional constitution, each signatory power may appoint four 
persons, who are called members of the court. They are appointed for 
six years, and may be reappointed. There are now upwards of one 
hundred and twenty of them, but they do not constitute an actual tribunal 
for the trial of cases. They form, on the contrary, a panel, or eligible 
list, from which, when a case is submitted, arbitrators, usually not ex¬ 
ceeding five in number, are specially chosen to hear and determine the 
controversy. A majority of the judges of the Permanent Court of Inter¬ 
national Justice are, I may here remark, also members of the older 
tribunal. 

Nevertheless, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, although its 
establishment was widely acclaimed as a millenial augury, failed to meet 
the expectations which many had indulged. Its inability to prevent the 
recurrence of war was soon demonstrated. But, wholly apart from this 
debatable test, it failed to satisfy the desires of many persons not only 
because it was not an actual trial court, but also because the treaty under 
which it was constituted did not make the resort to arbitration obligatory. 
While it was argued that an actual court, with a fixed personnel, would 
afford greater certainty and continuity in the application of legal prin¬ 
ciples and contribute more to their systematic development, it was also 

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PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 3 


maintained that submission to the court’s jurisdiction could be assured 
only by an express and definite international obligation. 

The Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, 
although it does not in terms make arbitration obligatory in any case, 
excepts nothing from the scope of arbitration, thus leaving the parties 
free to apply the process to any and every question for the solution of 
which they may see fit to employ it, without discouraging in advance its 
application to any class of questions or furnishing a ready excuse for 
avoiding the resort to it. But, with a view to make the process obligatory, 
an agitation was begun for the conclusion of supplementary treaties, and 
as a model there was taken the treaty between France and Great Britain 
of October 14, 1903, which provided for the reference to the Permanent 
Court of Arbitration of differences “of a legal nature, or relating to the 
interpretation of treaties, . . . provided, nevertheless, that they do 

not affect the vital interests, the independence or the honor of the two 
contracting States, and do not concern the interests of third parties.” 
Of this clause, which was supposed to create an obligation, the most strik¬ 
ing part is that which specifies the general and sweeping exceptions, the 
nullifying effect of which can be appreciated only when we reflect upon the 
fact that they qualify and limit, not a general obligation to submit all differ¬ 
ences, but only an obligation to submit differences “of a legal nature 
or relating to the interpretation of treaties,” which had previously been 
regarded as intrinsically suitable for arbitration. On this basis, faulty as 
it was, many treaties were, unfortunately, concluded. 

In 1907 the United States presented to the second Peace Conference 
at The Hague a proposal for the establishment of a permanent court, 
with a determinate personnel, to be styled “The Court of Arbitral Jus¬ 
tice,” but the proposal was postponed because of the difficulty in provid¬ 
ing a method for the selection of the relatively small number of judges 
from the actually large number of countries forming the court’s con¬ 
stituency. 

By Art. 13 of the Covenant of the League of Nations the members 
of the League agree that, whenever any dispute shall arise between them 
which they “recognize to be suitable for submission to arbitration and 
which cannot be satisfactorily settled by diplomacy,” they will “submit 
the whole subject-matter to arbitration.” The article then designates, 
as among the disputes “generally suitable” for arbitration, those con¬ 
cerning (1) the interpretation of a treaty, (2) any question of interna¬ 
tional law, (3) the existence of any fact which, if established, would con¬ 
stitute a breach of an international obligation, or (4) the nature or ex¬ 
tent of the reparation to be made for the breach of an international obli¬ 
gation. Such disputes, it is provided, may be tried by a court agreed on 
by the parties or stipulated in any convention between them. By Art. 
14, however, it was provided that the Council of the League should pre- 


4 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


pare “plans for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International 
Justice,” which should be competent “to hear and determine any dis¬ 
pute of an international character which the parties thereto submit to it.” 
The Court, so the article runs, “may also give an advisory opinion upon 
any dispute or question referred to it by the Council or by the Assem¬ 
bly.” 

For the purpose of carrying out this mandate, the Council appointed 
an international committee, known as the Advisory Committee of Jurists, 
one of whose members was Mr. Elihu Root. This committee sat at The 
Hague in June and July 1920, and formulated a plan by which (Art. 34), 
as it was reported to the Council, the Court was, as between members of 
the League, to have, without any special convention or agreement, juris¬ 
diction of cases of a “legal nature” falling within the four categories 
above enumerated, as well as of the interpretation of sentences passed by 
the Court itself; and by which, in the event of a dispute as to whether 
a case came within any of the specified categories, such dispute was to be 
settled by the decision of the Court. 

When this plan was presented to the Council, objection was made 
to the jurisdictional clause on the ground that it in effect amended the 
Covenant, in that it substituted the decision of the Permanent Court for 
the free choice which the Covenant allowed to the parties between laying 
their dispute before that Court, or before another international tribunal, 
or before the Council. In the end this objection was sustained; and by 
the Statute for the establishment of the Permanent Court, as approved 
by the Assembly of the League of Nations on December 13, 1920, it is 
stipulated (Art. 36) that the jurisdiction of the Court “comprises all 
cases which the parties refer to it and all matters specially provided for in 
treaties and conventions in force.” The advocates, however, of a broader, 
more definite and more exacting obligation were not wholly defeated; 
since the Statute further provides that any Power may, either when 
ratifying the Statute or at a later moment, declare that it recognizes as 
obligatory, ipso facto and without any special agreement, as regards any 
other Power accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court 
in all or any of the four legal categories above enumerated; that such 
declaration may be made unconditionally, or on condition of reciprocity, 
or for a certain time; and that any dispute as to whether the Court has 
jurisdiction shall be determined by the Court itself. Such a declaration 
had, prior to November last, been signed by eighteen States, but the 
signatories do not include any of the Great Powers. 

The entire plan reported by the Advisory Committee was, before its 
submission to the Assembly, considered by the Council at sessions held 
at San Sebastian and at Brussels. In the Assembly, where it was re¬ 
ferred to a committee composed of representatives of all the members 
of the League, it was first examined by a sub-committee of jurists. It 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 5 


was then passed upon by the full committee. In all these stages amend¬ 
ments were made, some of which, like that relating to obligatory juris¬ 
diction, were substantial and important. The main structure was, how¬ 
ever, retained; and the Court, as constituted, accordingly consists of 
fifteen “members,” composed of eleven judges, called “ordinary judges,” 
and four deputy-judges. By express provision of the Statute (Art. 25), 
the eleven judges constitute the “full Court” for active purposes. In 
case they cannot all be present, deputies are to sit as judges in place of 
the absentees; but, if eleven judges are not available, nine may constitute 
a quorum. 

The full Court is required to sit, except where it is expressly pro¬ 
vided otherwise. But the Statute does so expressly provide in three 
classes of cases: 

1. In cases under the Labor Clauses of the Treaty of Versailles 
(Part XIII) and of the other Peace Treaties, the Court is required to 
appoint every three years a special chamber of five judges, by which, in¬ 
stead of by the full Court, the case is, if the parties so demand, to be 
heard and determined. In all labor cases, whether determined by the 
full Court or by the special chamber, the judges are to be assisted by 
four technical assessors, who sit in an advisory capacity but do not vote. 

2. In cases relating to transit and communications, particularly 
under Part XII (Ports, Waterways and Railways) of the Treaty of 
Versailles, and the corresponding parts of the other peace treaties, pro¬ 
vision is made for the appointment of a similar special chamber, work¬ 
ing under similar conditions and with similar procedure. 

These special chambers may, with the consent of the parties to the 
dispute, sit elsewhere than at The Hague. 

3’. The Court is to form annually a chamber of three judges, who 
may, at the requesting of the disputants, hear and determine cases by 
summary procedure. 

The difficulty regarding the election of judges was overcome by a 
provision, suggested by Mr. Root, that they should be chosen by the con¬ 
current vote of the Council and the Assembly, acting separately, from a 
list of candidates nominated by the various national groups of members 
of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. It resulted that, although the 
United States group presented no names, there were eighty-nine nominees. 
Four of these declined to be considered as candidates. The election began 
on September 14, 1921, and was completed within three days. 

The eleven judges thus elected are, in order of birth, as follows: 
Viscount Robert Bannatyne Finlay (July 11, 1842), Great Britain; B. C. 
J. Loder (September 13, 1849), Holland; Ruy Barbosa (November 5, 
1849), Brazil; D. J. Nyholm (June 21, 1858), Denmark; Charles Andre 
Weiss (September 30, 1858), France; J: B. Moore (Dec. 3, 1860), 
United States; Antonio Sanchez de Bustamante (April 13, 1865), Cuba; 


6 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


Rafael Altamira (February 10, 1866), Spain; Yorozu Oda (July 4, 
1868), Japan; Dionisio Anzilotti (February 20, 1869), Italy; Max Huber 
(December 28, 1874), Switzerland. The four deputies, whose precise 
dates of birth I do not happen to have at hand, are, in the order of age, 
as follows: Michailo Yovanovitch, Serb-Croat-Slovene State; F. V. N. 
Beichmann, Norway; Demetre Negulesco, Roumania; Chung-Hui Wang, 
China. 

Lord Finlay, although the oldest member of the Court, might, if 
judged by his vigor and the alertness of his faculties, be regarded as 
still in the prime of life. He holds at the bar of his own country the 
highest rank. From 1900 to 1905 he was Attorney General, while from 
1915 to 1919 he was Lord Chancellor. He is also a member of the 
Permanent Court of Arbitration, before which, in 1910, he represented 
his government in the celebrated case of the North Atlantic Fisheries, 
which was then finally determined. 

Mr. Loder, besides having sat in the supreme court of the Nether¬ 
lands, has been active in various international bodies, being one of the 
founders of the International Maritime Committee, in 1896, and a par¬ 
ticipant in the international conferences on maritime law at Brussels in 
1905, 1909 and 1910. He was a delegate to the conference held at 
Paris in March, 1919, to discuss the plan of a League of Nations; was 
president of the Conference of Neutrals held at The Hague in 1920 for 
the purpose of drawing up a plan for the Permanent Court of Inter¬ 
national Justice, and was a member of the Advisory Committee of Jurists, 
by which the first draft of the actual plan was drawn up. 

Mr. Ruy Barbosa is one of the most eminent of Brazilian lawyers 
and statesmen. He was Minister of Finance and Vice-President of the 
Provisional Government when the transition took place in Brazil from a 
monarchy to a republic, and was one of the principal authors of the 
plan of a constitution for the republic presented to the constituent assem¬ 
bly. He was one of the most active members of the second Peace Con¬ 
ference at The Hague in 1907. 

Mr. Nyholm, who is an honorary member of the Council of State 
of Denmark, and a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, has 
since 1897 been a member of the International Mixed Court at Cairo, of 
which he has been Vice-President since 1916. 

Mr. Weiss, who is a member of the Institute of France, is juris¬ 
consult to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a member of the Perma¬ 
nent Court of Arbitration. He is professor of private international law 
at the University of Paris, and is a distinguished writer on that subject. 

Mr. de Bustamante, who was educated for the bar at Havana and 
at Madrid, was, almost at the beginning of his professional career, 
appointed to the chair of international law at the University of Havana, 
which he still holds. He also is president of the Institut de Droit Inter- 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 7 


national. He is a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Eminent 
as a practitioner, he is dean of the Havana bar. He has held with dis¬ 
tinction various public positions, and is the author of numerous legal 
works of recognized value. 

Mr. Altamira, who is a member of the senate of Spain, is pro¬ 
fessor of the history of political and civil institutions of America at the 
University of Madrid. He is a member of the Spanish Royal Academy 
of Moral and Political Sciences, a corresponding member of the Insti¬ 
tute of France, and president of the Ibero-American Institute of Com¬ 
parative Law. He was a member of the Advisory Committee of Jurists. 

Mr. Oda is professor of international law at the University of Kyoto, 
of which he is also rector. He is a member of the Academy of Japan, 
and is the author of numerous works on the usages, manners and laws of 
China and Formosa, where he spent many years. 

Mr. Anzilotti is professor of international law at the University of 
Rome, is jurisconsult to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is 
an author and editor of high repute. He is a member of the Institute of 
International Law and of various other scientific societies. He is a 
member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. 

Mr. Huber is honorary professor of international law and of public 
law at the University of Zurich, and is jurisconsult to the Swiss Govern¬ 
ment in matters of foreign affairs. He was a delegate to the second 
Peace Conference at The Hague in 1907, and also to the Peace Confer¬ 
ence at Paris in 1919. He is an author of eminence, and a man of ex¬ 
ceptional learning and intelligence. 

Mr. Yovanovitch, the eldest of the four deputy-judges, is president 
of the Court of Cassation of Servia, and was formerly minister of 
justice of that country. He is an authority on the history of Slav law, 
and is the author of numerous legal works. 

Mr. Beichmann is president of the court of appeals of Trondhjem, 
Norway, is vice-president of the Institut de Droit International, and is a 
member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He has lately served 
as president of an arbitral commission dealing with certain matters in 
Morocco. 

Mr. Negulesco has been a professor at the University of Bucharest 
since 1901, and is the author of numerous legal works. He represents 
Roumania in the League of Nations, and was a member of the committee 
of the Assembly which revised the draft of the statute as prepared by 
the Advisory Committee of Jurists. 

The fourth deputy-judge, Mr. Wang, was minister of foreign affairs 
af the provisional government of China at Nanking. He was also 
minister of justice in the first republican cabinet, and was formerly 
president of the committee on the codification of the laws of China. He 


8 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 

perhaps is best known in the United States by his admirable translation 
into English of the German civil code. 

For a sketch of himself, the present writer would refer to “Who’s 
Who.” In this relation, however, it may be useful to explain how, 
although the United States is not a member of the League of Nations, 
he, a citizen of the United States, came to be chosen as a judge of the 
present Court. The explanation is found in the fact that the judges are 
not elected and that they do not sit as citizens or representatives of any 
particular country. As far as human nature will permit, they are ex¬ 
pected to decide impartially between all countries, without favor or 
antipathy to any. To this end the statute provides that the Court “shall 
be composed of a body of independent judges, elected regardless of their 
nationality.” On the other hand, the election of more than one judge of 
any particular nationality is forbidden. The only personal conditions 
prescribed are (1) that they shall be of “high moral character,” and (2) 
that they shall have “the qualifications required in their respective coun¬ 
tries” for “the highest judicial offices,” or be “jurisconsults of recognized 
competence in international law.” But the statute also admonishes the 
electors that the Court as a whole should “represent the main forms of 
civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.” In view of 
this provision, it is not strange that the bar of the United States was 
not passed over. 

It may, however, be observed that the circumstance that a judge may 
happen to be of the same nationality as one of the parties to a suit does not 
disqualify him from sitting. This question was very fully considered in 
the formulation of the Statute, with the result that the conclusion was 
reached that, in order to assure the full and equal representation of 
national points of view, if there should be a national of one of the parties 
sitting as a judge, the other party should be permitted to choose a judge 
of its own nationality. In the special chambers for labor and transit 
cases, consisting of only five judges, the judge so chosen is to take the 
place of one of the other judges, in order that the number may not be 
increased (Statute, Arts. 26, 27; Rules, Art. 15) ; but, in the case of the 
full Court, the judges chosen on account of their nationality are added, 
so that the full Court may in such case sit with a number of judges 
exceeding eleven. (Statute, Art. 31; Rules, Art. 4.) The provisions 
for national representation do not apply to the chamber for summary pro¬ 
cedure. (Rules, Art. 15, paragraph 2.) 

In connection with the election of a citizen of the United States 
as a judge of the Court, there is another and very important phase which 
should not be overlooked. In the resolution by which the Assembly 
unanimously gave its approval to the Statute, it is expressly declared that 
the Court, when organized, shall sit in all disputes between members of 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 9 


the League as well as in disputes between other States to which the 
Court is, by the terms of the Statute, open. Among those other States 
is the United States. The resolution furthermore provides that the 
protocol, by which the Statute is accepted, may be signed by all States 
mentioned in the Annex to the Covenant. It thus appears that all those 
States, among which again is the United States, may accept and support, 
as well as use, the Court, even though they may not have accepted the 
political responsibilities of the League. When a non-member State, with¬ 
out having become a party to the Statute, is a party to a suit, it is left to 
the Court to fix the amount which such State shall contribute toward the 
expenses. 

The members of the Court are elected for nine years, and may be 
re-elected; but, where a person is chosen to fill a vacancy, he holds office 
only for the remainder of the unexpired term. It thus results that there 
must be an election of the whole Court every nine years. While this 
part of the plan may be regarded as an element of instability, it was de¬ 
liberately adopted after full consideration. 

The compensation of the members of the Court is regulated by the 
Statute, and is expressed in Dutch florins. The judges each receive an 
annual salary of 15,000 florins, which, at the normal rate of exchange, is 
equivalent to $6,030. The president of the Court, who is required to 
live at The Hague, receives in addition a flat special allowance of 
45,000 florins. The additional pay of the other judges, apart from the 
refund of traveling expenses and an allowance of 50 florins a day for 
living expenses while at The Hague, depends on service, and is in the 
form of a duty-allowance, which is fixed at 100 florins a day, except in 
the case of the vice-president, who receives 150 florins a day. The duty- 
allowance is limited, however, to a maximum of 20,000 florins a year in 
the case of the judges, and of 30,000 florins in the case of the vice- 
president. The maximum can thus be attained only if the sittings of 
the Court during the year amount to 200 days. If the Court sits longer, 
there is no further pay. A very substantial reason for these financial 
provisions will be seen in the fact that the judges are not permitted to 
exercise “any political or administrative function,” or to “act as agent, 
counsel or advocate in any case of an international nature.” These inhibi¬ 
tions are applicable to deputy-judges only when they are actually sitting 
and as regards cases in which they sit. Consequently, the deputy-judges 
are not provided with salaries, but, if called on for service, are to re¬ 
ceive, in addition to their traveling expenses and the allowance of 50 
florins a day for living expenses at The Hague, a duty-allowance of 150 
florins a day, which is limited to a maximum of 30,000 florins in any one 
year. 

The Court must, by the terms of the Statute (Art. 23), hold in each 
year at least one session, which, unless the rules of the Court otherwise 


10 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


provide, must begin on the 15th of June, and must continue until the 
cases on the list are disposed of. The first regular session of the Court 
will open on June 15, 1922. The President, however, may summon an 
extraordinary session whenever necessary. 

Each member of the Court is required, before taking up his duties, 
to make a solemn declaration in open court that he will exercise his pow¬ 
ers impartially and conscientiously. The members, when engaged in the 
business of the Court, enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities. 

The official languages of the Court are French and English, but the 
Court may, at the request of the parties, authorize another language to 
be used. The parties are to be represented by agents and, as in the 
case of ordinary courts, may have the assistance of counsel or advocates. 
Proceedings are both written and oral. This applies to the testimony of 
witnesses. Hearings are to be public, unless the Court shall otherwise 
decide, or unless the parties demand that the public be not admitted. Min¬ 
utes must be kept of all hearings. 

All questions are to be decided by a majority of the judges present 
at the hearing, and in the event of an even division, the president or his 
deputy is to have a casting vote. 

Every judgment is required to state the reasons on which it is 
based and to contain the names of the judges who have taken part in it. 
If the judgment is not unanimous, dissenting judges are entitled to de¬ 
liver separate opinions. Judgments must be read in open court, after 
due notice to the agents of the parties. If the meaning or scope of the 
judgment is disputed, the Court, on the request of any party, is to con¬ 
strue it. Applications for revision may be made only on the ground of 
the discovery of some decisive fact which, when the judgment was ren¬ 
dered, was unknown to the Court and also to the party claiming revision. 
But no application is allowed if the want of knowledge was due to negli¬ 
gence. The Court frames its own rules of procedure, both regular and 
summary. 

The Court held its first meeting at The Hague on January 30, 1922. 
The session was called for purposes of organization. There were pres¬ 
ent nine judges and two deputy-judges, the two deputies, Messrs. Yovano- 
vitch and Beichmann, having been called by the Secretariat-General of 
the League of Nations, in the order apparently indicated by the Statute, to 
take the places of two judges, Messrs. Ruy Barbosa and de Bustamante, 
who were absent for reasons of health and climate. But as the session was 
only preliminary, and no statutory list (Statute, Art. 15), laying down 
the order in which the deputies should be called, had been prepared, the 
Court, by a majority vote, decided to invite the two remaining deputies, 
Messrs. Negulesco and Wang, to attend. Mr. Negulesco duly appeared, 
but Mr. Wang, who was not in Europe, was unable to be present. 

The first business transacted was the election of officers. Mr. 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 11 


Loder, who resides at The Hague, was elected president of the Court, 
and Mr. Weiss vice-president. Mr. A. Hammarskjold, of Sweden, who 
had been deeply interested and usefully active in the establishment of the 
Court, was chosen as registrar or clerk. The formal opening took place 
at the Peace Palace on Wednesday, February 15th, in the presence of a 
distinguished assemblage, including the Queen and other members of the 
Dutch government, and representatives of other governments and of the 
League of Nations. 

After the formal opening, the Court proceeded to the formulation 
of rules of procedure, which were finally adopted on the 24th of March. 
Among the questions to which the performance of this task gave rise, 
none was more debated than that as to the extent to which the records 
of the Court should be open to inspection or should be kept secret. This 
question was raised by Art. 62 of the Statute, which authorizes a gov¬ 
ernment to ask permission to intervene as a third party, if it considers that 
it has an interest of a legal nature which may be affected by the decision 
in the case. In order that a government may know whether it has such 
an interest in the litigation, it must know what the litigation compre¬ 
hends, and to this an acquaintance with the contents of the documents 
evidently would be helpful and might be essential. The question proved, 
however, to be very difficult of solution, the view being strongly urged that 
an apprehension that third Powers, and especially the larger Powers, 
might abuse their privileges, would deter governments from coming to 
the Court. In the end a rule was adopted, under which the Court, or, if 
it is not sitting, the president, may, after hearing the parties, order the 
registrar to permit the inspection of the cases and counter-cases. (Rule 
38.) Much comment had been made upon the fact that none of the great 
Powers has accepted the obligatory principle of jurisdiction. Perhaps 
it may be hoped that the right of intervention given by the Statute may 
prove to be a means of inducing governments, be they great or small, to 
come before the Court, thus showing their confidence in it and enlarging 
its opportunities to perform a service for the world. 

Another question very fully discussed was that of the giving of 
advisory opinions, which obviously is not a judicial function. The 
Statute, as adopted by the Assembly of the League, does not directly 
mention advisory opinions; but the Court, after careful consideration, 
reached the conclusion that there were certain clauses of the Statute 
which by implication incorporated the provision in Art. 14 of the Cove¬ 
nant on that subject. It was therefore decided that, while the Court 
would not be justified in taking the position that it wou’d not in any 
case give an advisory opinion, it remained with the Court to determine 
whether it would in a particular case, considering the nature of the ques¬ 
tion submitted, give such an opinion. The rules adopted by the Court 
(Arts. 71-74) are based on this view. They assimilate the process as far as 


12 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


possible to a judicial proceeding, and exclude any supposition that ad¬ 
visory opinions may be rendered in a diplomatic sense and without 
publicity. 

One of the most serious questions, and in some respects the most 
serious, which the Court was required to determine was that of the 
position and functions of the deputy-judges. At one time there appeared 
to be much support for the view that the deputy-judges were, as “mem¬ 
bers” of the Court, essential participants in all functions not strictly 
judicial, such as the election of officers, the making of rules, and the giv¬ 
ing of advisory opinions. These “non-judicial” functions were, it was 
urged, to be performed by all the “members” of the Court in “general 
assembly.” 

An examination of the antecedents disclosed the fact that this con¬ 
tention was related to a conception of the Court which was fully con¬ 
sidered in the formulation of the Statute. It appeared that there were at 
the outset two views as to what the functions of the “supplementary” 
or “deputy” judges should be. According to one view, the deputy-judges 
were to act only as substitutes for absent judges. This view prevailed. 
The other view was bound up with a conception of the Court that failed. 
According to this conception, all the judges were to reside at the seat of 
the Court. They were also to receive liberal salaries, in order that they 
might give up all other occupations. The deputy-judges were to be 
subject to the same conditions, and were to receive the same salaries. 
Their continuous presence at The Hague would, it was argued, be highly 
desirable, if not necessary, in order that they might “saturate them¬ 
selves with the spirit of international justice evolved by the Court,” and, 
as “young judges,” designed to recruit its working force, be in training 
for its work. As against this conception, it was argued that it would be 
contrary to common sense to give the same rate of pay to those who did 
the actual work and to those who came simply to learn, and that it would 
also create “an impossible situation for the regular judges to be con¬ 
tinually surrounded by student judges, even when considering their judg¬ 
ments.” In the adoption of the Statute, the conception of the Court as 
a body continuously resident at The Hague completely disappeared, and 
the difference between the ordinary judges and the deputy-judges was 
clearly marked. This was done not only by the decision to pay the 
deputy-judges only a duty-allowance, but also by permitting them to act 
as counsel in any international case in which they are not “called upon 
to exercise their functions on the Court,” as well as to exercise “political 
or administrative” functions “except when performing their duties on 
the Court.” (Statute, Arts. 16, 17.) The judges, so long as they remain 
members of the Court, are, as we have seen, forbidden to act as counsel 
“in any case of an international nature” or to exercise “any political 
or administrative function.” It was held that the political function 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 13 


exercised by Viscount Finlay as a member of the House of Lords, 
and by Mr. Altamira as a senator, did not fall within this inhibi¬ 
tion, the Court interpreting the phrase “political or administrative” to 
refer to a function in the exercise of which the holder is subject to the 
direction and control of government, and is thus deprived of independence 
of judgment and of action. The fact that the deputy-judges are required 
to withdraw from or to suspend the exercise of such functions only 
when actually performing their duties on the Court clearly demonstrates 
that their active participation in the work of the Court was to be only 
occasional. In consideration of this fact, their ordinary activities, whether 
professional or governmental, were circumscribed as little as possible. 

The only case in which, under the Rules, all the members, both the 
judges and the deputies, are to be summoned is in the application of 
Art. 18 of the Statute, which provides that “a member of the Court 
cannot be dismissed unless, in the unanimous opinion of the other mem¬ 
bers, he has ceased to fulfil the required conditions.” This article 
was held to apply to deputy-judges as well as to judges, since, unless 
it was so interpreted, no provision was made for the removal of the 
former. The Rules therefore provide (Art. 6) that, where Art. 18 
of the Statute is invoked, “the president, or if necessary the vice-president, 
shall convene the judges and deputy-judges.” The member affected is 
to be allowed to furnish explanations, and, when he has done so, the 
question of his removal is to be discussed and a vote taken, the member in 
question not being present. In accordance with the provisions of the 
Statute, the notification to the Secretary-General of the League of Na¬ 
tions of the unanimous opinion that the member has ceased to fulfil the 
required conditions makes the place vacant. 

As the statement was widely published that the members of the 
Court, when engaged in the discharge of their duties, were to wear black 
velvet robes, lined with black silk and with collars trimmed with ermine, 
and also black velvet barettas, it is proper to state that the only robe 
that they have worn, or are to wear, is one of black silk, with black 
velvet facing, which can hardly be distinguished from the academic gown 
commonly worn in the United States. It differs little from the robes 
worn by the justices of the Supreme Court of the United States or of 
the higher courts in the State of New York. When we consider the 
divergent views that prevail in different countries as to what dress is 
proper on ceremonial occasions, we may be justified in thinking that, in 
the case of an international body, a plain and uniform dress may tend 
both to simplicity and to the avoidance of shocks to regional conceptions 
of propriety. Perhaps we have all known persons who, while avowedly 
opposed to any kind of official dress, saw no inconsistency in wearing, on 
every available occasion, all the orders and decorations of which they 
may have been the recipients, and who would feel no sense of impro- 


14 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


priety in appearing during the day in a “full-dress” costume regarded in 
the United States and x in certain other countries as being exclusively 
. appropriate to the evening. There are countries classed as very demo¬ 
cratic in which such dress is expected on formal occasions, without regard 
to the hour. The robe adopted by the Permanent Court is to be worn only 
on the bench. On other occasions the judges are to wear what they may 
individually deem to be appropriate. 

The Statute provides (Art. 38) that the Court, in rendering its de¬ 
cisions, shall apply (1) “international conventions, whether general or 
particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting 
States,” (2) “international custom, as evidence of a general practice ac¬ 
cepted as law,” (3) “the general principles of law recognized by civilized 
nations,” and (4), “subject to the provisions of Art. 59, judicial deci¬ 
sions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the 
various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of 
law.” The Statute adds that “this provision shall not prejudice the power 
of the Court to decide a case ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree there¬ 
to.” In explanation of the fourth clause above quoted, it may be said 
that Art. 59 of the Statute provides that “the decision of the Court has 
no binding force except between the parties” and in respect of the “par¬ 
ticular case” in which the decision is rendered. So far as the foregoing 
clauses lay down rules of decision, they perhaps may be regarded as 
only embodying what is usually laid down in elementary works. The 
qualification of the fourth clause, by subjecting it to the provisions of Art. 
59, is perhaps not so serious as might be supposed, since a certain weight 
is inevitably given to judicial decisions in all countries, whether they 
professedly accept or professedly reject the principle of stare decisis as 
an obligatory rule. It has been suggested that the provision that the Court 
may decide a case “ex aequo et bono, if the parties agree thereto,” gives 
countenance to the supposition that the Court has been invested with 
extra-judicial functions. It has, on the other hand, been surmised that, 
as a decision by a judicial magistrate ex aequo et bono is not inherently 
either extra-judicial or non-judicial, the design may have been merely to 
assure the ordinary application of legal rules. As there is no precise and 
all-inclusive general agreement as to what are in a strict sense rules of law, 
and as there often is room, in the domain of private as well as of public 
law, for wide differences of opinion as to whether judges may not have 
been influenced in a decision by considerations of what they conceived to 
be just and good, it may be admitted that the precise meaning and effect of 
the clause remain to be determined by the Court. Meanwhile, it may be 
hoped that the apprehension, which has sometimes been expressed, that a 
disappointed litigant possibly might seek in the clause a colorable excuse 
for declining to abide by an adverse judgment, by alleging that the Court 



PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 15 


had decided the case ex aequo et bono without obtaining the parties’ con¬ 
sent, may prove to be groundless. 

As submission to the jurisdiction of the Court, except as regards the 
powers that have accepted a limited obligation, is wholly voluntary, it 
follows that the amount of the business which may come before the Court 
depends upon the will and inclination of the world’s governments. Ref¬ 
erence has often been made—and I confess that I have myself made it— 
to the small amount of business that came before the Supreme Court of 
the United States in the beginning and to the vast increase that came 
later; but it must be admitted that this is not necessarily a sure basis of 
forecast. As the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court is chiefly appellate, 
it would have been indeed strange if at the outset numerous cases had 
appeared on the docket; but, as submission to the court’s jurisdiction, 
under the Constitution and laws of the United States, by no means de¬ 
pended upon the agreement of parties, it was morally certain that, with 
the growth of the business of the new federal courts, the business of the 
Supreme Court would increase. The Permanent Court of International 
Justice is not an appellate tribunal. It is a court of original jurisdiction, 
and, constituted as it is, it depends for its business upon the desire and 
the will of nations, which alone (Statute, Art. 34) can be parties to cases 
before it, to submit their differences to judicial determination. Hence, no 
effort should be omitted to cultivate a public sentiment that will induce 
governments, instead of resorting to violence, to come before the tribunal 
which has now been established, which is continuously organized and 
always open to them, and submit their controversies to its final and peace¬ 
ful decision. 

John Bassett Moore 

Columbia Law School 


Appendix 

Protocol of Signature of the Statute for the Permanent Court of Inter¬ 
national Justice Provided for by Article 14 of the Covenant of the League 
of Nations with the Text of this Statute 

Protocol of Signature 

The Members of the League of Nations, through the undersigned, duly author¬ 
ized, declare their acceptance of the adjoined Statute of the Permanent Court of 
International Justice, which was approved by a unanimous vote of the Assembly 
of the League on the 13th December, 1920, at Geneva. 

Consequently, they hereby declare that they accept the jurisdiction of the 
Court in accordance with the terms and subject to the conditions of the above- 
mentioned Statute. 

The present Protocol, which has been drawn up in accordance with the deci¬ 
sion taken by the Assembly of the League of Nations on the 13th December, 1920, 
is subject to ratification. Each Power shall send its ratification to the Secretary- 
General of the League of Nations; the latter shall take the necessary steps to 
notify such ratification to the other signatory Powers. The ratification shall be 
deposited in the archives of the Secretariat of the League of Nations. 

The said Protocol shall remain open for signature by the Members of the 



18 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


The duties of Registrar of the Court shall not be deemed incompatible with 
those of Secretary-General of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. 

Art. 22. The seat of the Court shall be established at The Hague. 

The President and Registrar shall reside at the seat of the Court. 

Art. 23. A session of the Court shall be held every year. 

Unless otherwise provided by rules of Court, this session shall begin on the 
15th of June, and shall continue for so long as may be deemed necessary to 
finish the cases on the list. 

The President may summon an extraordinary session of the Court whenever 
necessary. 

Art. 24. If, for some special reason, a member of the Court considers that he 
should not take part in the decision of a particular case, he shall so inform the 
President. 

If the President considers that for some special reason one of the members 
of the Court should not sit on a particular case, he shall give him notice accord¬ 
ingly. 

If in any such case the member of the Court and the President disagree, the 
matter shall be settled by the decision of the Court. 

Art. 25. The full Court shall sit except when it is expressly provided other¬ 
wise. 

If eleven judges cannot be present, the number shall be made up by calling 
on deputy-judges to sit. 

If however, eleven judges are not available, a quorum of nine judges shall 
suffice to constitute the Court. 

Art. 26. Labour cases, particularly cases referred to in Part XIII (Labour) 
of the Treaty of Versailles and the corresponding portions of the other Treaties of 
Peace, shall be heard and determined by the Court under the following conditions: 

The Court will appoint every three years a special chamber of five judges, 
selected so far as possible with due regard to the provisions of Article 9. In 
addition, two judges shall be selected for the purpose of replacing a judge who 
finds it impossible to sit. If the parties so demand, cases will be heard and deter¬ 
mined by this chamber. In the absence of any such demand, the Court will sit 
with the number of judges provided for in Article 25. On all occasions the judges 
will be assisted by four technical assessors sitting with them, but without the 
right to vote, and ,chosen with a view to ensuring a just representation of the 
competing interests. 

If there is a national of one only of the parties sitting as a judge in the 
chamber referred to in the preceding paragraph, the President will invite one 
of the other judges to retire in favour of a judge chosen by the other party in 
accordance with Article 31. 

The technical assessors shall be chosen for each particular case in accordance 
with the rules of procedure under Article 30 from a list of “Assessors for Labour 
cases” composed of two persons nominated by each Member of the League of 
Nations and an equivalent number nominated by the Governing Body of the 
Labour Office. The Governing Body will nominate, as to one-half, representatives 
of the workers, and as to one-half, representatives of employers from the list 
referred to in Article 412 of the Treaty of Versailles and the corresponding 
Articles of the other Treaties of Peace. 

In Labour cases the International Labour Office shall be at liberty to furnish 
the Court with all relevant information, and for this purpose the Director of that 
Office shall receive copies of all the written proceedings. 

Art. 27. Cases relating to transit and communications, particularly cases 
referred to in Part XII (Ports, Waterways and Railways) of the Treaty of 
Versailles and the corresponding portions of the other Treaties of Peace shall be 
heard and determined by the Court under the following conditions: 

The Court will appoint every three years a special chamber of five judges, 
selected so far as possible with due regard to the provisions of Article 9. In 
addition, two judges shall be selected for the purpose of replacing a judge who 
finds it impossible to sit. If the parties so demand, cases will be heard and 
determined by this chamber. In the absence of any such demand, the Court will 
sit with the number of judges provided for in Article 25. When desired by the 
parties or decided by the Court, the judges will be assisted by four technical 
assessors sitting with them, but without the right to vote. 

If there is a national of one only of the parties sitting as a judge in the 
chamber referred to in the preceding paragraph, the President will invite one of 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 19 


the other judges to retire in favour of a judge chosen by the other party in 
accordance with Article 31. 

The technical assessors shall be chosen for each particular case in accord¬ 
ance with rules of procedure under Article 30 from a list of “Assessors for Transit 
and Communications cases” composed of two persons nominated by each Member 
of the League of Nations. 

Art. 28. The special chambers provided for in Articles 26 and 27 may, with 
the consent of the parties to the dispute, sit elsewhere than at The Hague. 

Art. 29. With a view to the speedy despatch of business, the Court shall form 
annually a chamber composed of three judges who, at the request of the con¬ 
testing parties, may hear and determine cases by summary procedure. 

Art. 30. The Court shall frame rules for regulating its procedure. In par¬ 
ticular, it shall lay down rules for summary procedure. 

Art. 31. Judges of the nationality of each contesting party shall retain their 
right to sit in the case before the Court. 

If the Court includes upon the Bench a judge of the nationality of one 
of the parties only, the other party may select from among the deputy-judges a 
judge of its nationality, if there be one. If there should not be one, the party 
may choose a judge, preferably from among those persons who have been nomi¬ 
nated as candidates as provided in Articles 4 and 5. 

If the Court includes upon the Bench no judge of the nationality of the con¬ 
testing parties, each of these may proceed to select or chose a judge as provided in 
the preceding paragraph. 

Should there be several parties in the same interest, they shall, for the pur¬ 
pose of the preceding provisions, be reckoned as one party only. Any doubt upon 
this point is settled by the decision of the Court. 

Judges selected or chosen as laid down in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article 
shall fulfil the conditions required by Articles 2, 16, 17, 20, 24 of this Statute. 
They shall take part in the decision on an equal footing with their colleagues. 

Art. 32. The judges shall receive an annual indemnity to be determined by the 
Assembly of the League of Nations upon the proposal of the Council. This in¬ 
demnity must not be decreased during the period of a judge’s appointment. 

The President shall receive a special grant for his period of office, to be fixed 
in the same way. 

The Vice-President, judges and deputy-judges, shall receive a grant for the 
actual performance of their duties, to be fixed in the same way. 

Travelling expenses incurred in the performance of their duties shall be 
refunded to judges and deputy-judges who do not reside at the seat of the Court. 

Grants due to judges selected or chosen as provided in Article 31 shall be 
determined in the same way. 

The salary of the Registrar shall be decided by the Council upon the proposal 
of the Court. 

The Assembly of the League of Nations shall lay down, on the proposal of 
the Council, a special regulation fixing the conditions under which retiring pen¬ 
sions may be given to the personnel of the Court. 

Art. 33. The expenses of the Court shall be borne by the League of Nations, 
in such a manner as shall be decided by the Assembly upon the proposal of the 
Council. 


Chapter II 

Competence of the Court 

Art. 34. Only States or Members of the League of Nations can be parties in 
cases before the Court. 

Art. 35. The Court shall be open to the Members of the League and also to 
States mentioned in the Annex to the Covenant. 

The conditions under which the Court shall be open to other States shall, 
subject to the special provisions contained in treaties in force, be laid down by 
the Council, but in no case shall such provisions place the parties in a position 
of inequality before the Court. 

When a State which is not a Member of the League of Nations is a party to a 
dispute, the Court will fix the amount which that party is to contribute towards 
the expenses of the Court. 

Art. 36. The jurisdiction of the Court comprises all cases which the parties 
refer to it and all matters specially provided for in Treaties and Conventions in 
force. 


20 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


The Members of the League of Nations and the States mentioned in the Annex 
to the Covenant may, either when signing or ratifying the protocol to which 
the present Statute is adjoined, or at a later moment, declare that they recognize 
as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other 
Member or State accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court in 
all or any of the classes of legal disputes concerning: 

(a) The interpretation of a Treaty; 

( b ) Any question of International Law; 

( c ) The existence of any fact which, if established, would constitute a breach 
of an international obligation; 

( d ) The nature or extent of the reparation to be made for the breach of an 
international obligation. 

The declaration referred to above may be made unconditionally or on condi¬ 
tion of reciprocity on the part of several or certain Members or States, or for a 
certain time. 

In the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the matter 
shall be settled by the decision of the Court. 

Art. 37. When a treaty or convention in force provides for the reference of 
a matter to a tribunal to be instituted by the League of Nations, the Court will be 
such tribunal. 

Art. 38. The Court shall apply: 

1. International conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules 
expressly recognized by the contesting States; 

2. International custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law; 

3. The general principles of law recognized by civilized nations; 

4. Subject to the provisions of Article 59, judicial decisions and the teachings 
of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means 
for the determination of rules of law. 

This provision shall not prejudice the power of the Court to decide a case 
ex ceqiio et bono, if the parties agree thereto. 

Chapter III. 

Procedure 

Art. 39. The official languages of the Court shall be French and English. If 
the parties agree that the case shall be conducted in French, the judgment will be 
delivered in French. If the parties agree that the case shall be conducted in 
English, the judgment will be delivered in English. 

In the absence of an agreement as to which language shall be employed, each 
party may, in the pleadings, use the language which it prefers; the decision of 
the Court will be given in French and English. In this case the Court will at 
the same time determine which of the two texts shall be considered as authori¬ 
tative. 

The Court may, at the request of the parties, authorize a language other than 
French or English to be used. 

Art. 40. Cases are brought before the Court, as the case may be, either by the 
notification of the special agreement, or by a written application addressed to the 
Registrar. In either case the subject of the dispute and the contesting parties 
must be indicated. 

The Registrar shall forthwith communicate the application to all concerned. 

He shall also notify the Members of the League of Nations through the 
Secretary-General. 

Art. 41. The Court shall have the power to indicate, if it considers that cir¬ 
cumstances so require, any provisional measures which ought to be taken to reserve 
the respective rights of either party. 

Pending the final decision, notice of the measures suggested shall forthwith be 
given to the parties and the Council. 

Art. 42. The parties shall be represented by Agents. 

They may have the assistance of Counsel or Advocates before the Court. 

Art. 43. The procedure shall consist of two parts: written and oral. 

The written proceedings shall consist of the communication to the judges and 
to the parties of cases, counter-cases and, if necessary, replies; also all papers and 
documents in support. 

These communications shall be made through the Registrar, in the order and 
within the time fixed by the Court. 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 21 


A certified copy of every document produced by one party shall be commu¬ 
nicated to the other party. 

The oral proceedings shall consist of the hearing by the Court of witnesses, 
experts, agents, counsel and advocates. 

Art. 44. For the service of all notices upon persons other than the agents, 
counsel and advocates, the Court shall apply direct to the Government of the State 
upon whose territory the notice has to be served. 

The same provision shall apply whenever steps are to be taken to procure 
evidence on the spot. 

Art. 45. The hearing shall be under the control of the President or, in his 
absence, of the Vice-President; if both are absent, the senior judge shall preside. 

Art. 46. The hearing in Court shall be public, unless the Court shall decide 
otherwise, or unless the parties demand that the public be not admitted. 

Art. 47. Minutes shall be made at each hearing, and signed by the Registrar 
and the President. 

These minutes shall be the only authentic record. 

Art. 48. The Court shall make orders for the conduct of the case, shall de¬ 
cide the form and time in which each party must conclude its arguments, and make 
all arrangements connected with the taking of evidence. 

Art. 49. The Court may, even before the hearing begins, call upon the agents 
to produce any document, or to supply any explanations. Formal note shall be 
taken of any refusal. 

Art. 50. The Court may, at any time, entrust any individual, body, bureau, 
commission or other organization that it may select, with the task of carrying 
out an enquiry or giving an expert opinion. 

Art. 51. During the hearing, any relevant questions are to be put to the wit¬ 
nesses and experts under the conditions laid down by the Court in the rules of 
procedure referred to in Article 30. 

Art. 52. After the Court has received the proofs and evidence within the 
time specified for the purpose, it may refuse to accept any further oral or written 
evidence that one party may desire to present unless the other side consents. 

Art. 53. Whenever one of the parties shall not appear before the Court, or 
shall fail to defend his case, the other party may call upon the Court to decide in 
favour of his claim. 

The Court must, before doing so, satisfy itself, not only that it has juris¬ 
diction in accordance with Articles 36 and 37, but also that the claim is well 
founded in fact and law. 

Art. 54. When, subject to the control of the Court, the agents, advocates and 
counsel have completed their presentation of the case, the President shall declare 
the hearing closed. 

The Court shall withdraw to consider the judgment. 

The deliberations of the Court shall take place in private and remain secret. 

Art. 55. All questions shall be decided by a majority of the judges present at 
the hearing. 

In the event of an equality of votes, the President or his deputy shall have 
a casting vote. 

Art. 56. The judgment shall state the reasons on which it is based. 

It shall contain the names of the judges who have taken part in the decision. 

Art. 57. If the judgment does not represent in whole or in part the unanimous 
opinion of the judges, dissenting judges are entitled to deliver a separate opinion. 

Art. 58. The judgment shall be signed by the President and by the Registrar. 
It shall be read in open Court, due notice having been given to the agents. 

Art. 59. The decision of the Court has no binding force except between the 
parties and in respect of that particular case. 

Art. 60. The judgment is final and without appeal. In the event of dispute 
as to the meaning or scope of the judgment, the Court shall construe it upon the 
request of any party. 

Art. 61. An application for revision of a judgment can be made only when 
it is based upon the discovery of some fact of such a nature as to be a decisive 
factor, which fact was, when the judgment was given, unknown to the Court and 
also to the party claiming revision, always provided that such ignorance was not 
due to negligence. 

The proceedings for revision will be opened by a judgment of the Court ex¬ 
pressly recording the existence of the new fact, recognizing that it has such a 


22 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


character as to lay the case open to revision, and declaring the application admis¬ 
sible on this ground. 

The Court may require previous compliance with the terms of the judgment 
before it admits proceedings in revision. 

The application for revision must be made at latest within six months of the 
discovery of the new fact. 

No application for revision may be made after the lapse of ten years from the 
date of the sentence. 

Art. 62. Should a State consider that it has an interest of a legal nature 
which may be affected by the decision in the case, it may submit a request to the 
Court to be permitted to intervene as a third party. 

It will be for the Court to decide upon this request. 

Art. 63. Whenever the construction of a convention to which States other 
than those concerned in the case are parties is in question, the Registrar shall 
notify all such States forthwith. 

Every State so notified has the right to intervene in the proceedings: but if 
it uses this right, the construction given by the judgment will be equally binding 
upon it. 

Art. 64. Unless otherwise decided by the Court, each party shall bear its own 
costs. 


Rules of Court 
Preamble 

The Court, 

By virtue of Article 30 of its Statute, 

Adopts the present Rules: 

Chapter I. The Court 
Heading I. Constitution of the Court 
Section A. Judges and assessors 

Art. 1. Subject to the provisions of Article 14 of the Statute, the term of 
office of judges and deputy-judges shall commence on January 1st of the year 
following their election. 

Art. 2. Judges and deputy-judges elected at an earlier session of the Assembly 
and of the Council of the League of Nations shall take precedence respectively 
over judges and deputy-judges elected at a subsequent session. Judges and deputy- 
judges elected during the same session shall take precedence according to age. 
Judges shall take precedence over deputy-judges. 

National judges chosen from outside the Court, under the terms of Article 31 
of the Statute, shall take precedence after deputy-judges in order of age. 

The list of deputy-judges shall be prepared in accordance with these princi¬ 
ples. 

The Vice-President shall take his seat on the right of the President. The 
other Members of the Court shall take their seats to the right and left of the 
President in the order laid down above. 

Art. 3. Deputy-judges whose presence is necessary shall be summoned in the 
order laid down in the list referred to in the preceding Article, that is to say, each 
of them will be summoned in rotation throughout the list. 

Should a deputy-judge be so far from the seat of the Court that, in the 
opinion of the President, a summons would not reach him in sufficient time, the 
deputy-judge next on the list shall be summoned; nevertheless, the judge to whom 
the summons should have been addressed shall be called upon, if possible, on the 
next occasion that the presence of a deputy-judge is required. 

A deputy-judge who has begun a case shall be summoned again, if neces¬ 
sary out of his turn, in order to continue to sit in the case until it is finished. 

Should a deputy-judge be summoned to take his seat in a particular case as 
a national judge, under the terms of Article 31 of the Statute, such summons 
shall not be regarded as coming within the terms of the present Article. 

Art. 4. In cases in which one or more parties are entitled to choose a judge 
ad hoc of their nationality, the full Court may sit with a number of judges exceed¬ 
ing eleven. 

When the Court has satisfied itself, in accordance with Article 31 of the 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 23 


Statute, that there are several parties in the same interest and that none of them 
has a judge of its nationality upon the bench, the Court shall invite them, within a 
period to be fixed by the Court, to select by common agreement a deputy judge 
of the nationality of one of the parties, should there be one; or, should there not 
be one, a judge chosen in accordance with the principles of the above-mentioned 
Article. 

Should the parties have failed to notify the Court of their selection or choice 
when the time limit expires, they shall be regarded as having renounced the right 
conferred upon them by Article 31. 

Art. 5. Before entering upon his duties, each member of the Court or judge 
summoned to complete the Court, under the terms of Article 31 of the Statute, 
shall make the following solemn declaration in accordance with Article 20 of 
the Statute: 

“I solemnly declare that I will exercise all my powers and duties as a judge 
honourably and faithfully, impartially and conscientiously.” 

A special public sitting of the Court may, if necessary, be convened for 
this purpose. 

At the public inaugural sitting held after a new election of the whole Court 
the required declaration shall be made first by the President, secondly by the Vice- 
President, and then by the remaining judges in the order laid down in Article 2. 

Art. 6. For the purpose of applying Article 18 of the Statute, the President, 
or if necessary the Vice-President, shall convene the judges and deputy-judges. 
The member affected shall be allowed to furnish explanations. When he has done 
so the question shall be discussed and a vote shall be taken, the member in ques¬ 
tion not being present. If the members present are unanimously agreed, the 
Registrar shall issue the notification prescribed in the above-mentioned Article. 

Art. 7. The President shall take steps to obtain all information which might 
be helpful to the Court in selecting technical assessors in each case. With regard 
to the questions referred to in Article 26 of the Statute, he shall, in particular, 
consult the Governing Body of the International Labour Office. 

The assessors shall be appointed by an absolute majority of votes, either by the 
Court or by the special Chamber which has to deal with the case in question. 

Art. 8. Assessors shall make the following solemn declaration at the first 
sitting of the Court at which they are present: 

“I solemnly declare that I will exercise my duties and powers as an assessor 
honourably and faithfully, impartially and conscientiously, and that I will 
scrupulously observe all the provisions of the Statute and of the Rules of Court.” 

Section B. The Presidency 

Art. 9. The election of the President and Vice-President shall take place at 
the end of the ordinary session immediately before the normal termination of the 
period of office of the retiring President and Vice-President. 

After a new election of the whole Court, the election of the President and 
Vice-President shall take place at the commencement of the following session. 
The President and Vice-President elected in these circumstances shall take up 
their duties on the day of their election. They shall remain in office until the end 
of the second year after the year of their election. 

Should the President or the Vice-President cease to belong to the Court before 
the expiration of their normal term of office, an election shall be held for the 
purpose of appointing a substitute for the unexpired portion of their term of 
office. If necessary, an extraordinary session of the Court may be convened for 
this purpose. 

The elections referred to in the present Article shall take place by secret 
ballot. The candidate obtaining an absolute majority of votes shall be declared 
elected. 

Art. 10. The President shall direct the work and administration of the Court; 
he shall preside at the meetings of the full Court. 

Art. 11. The Vice-President shall take the place of the President, should the 
latter be unable to be present, or, should he cease to hold office, until the new 
President has been appointed by the Court. 

Art. 12. The President shall reside within a radius of ten kilometres from 
the Peace Palace at the Hague. 

The main annual vacation of the President shall not exceed three months. 

Art. 13. After a new election of the whole Court and until such time as the 
President and Vice-President have been elected, the judge who takes precedence 
according to the order laid down in Article 2, shall perform the duties of President. 


24 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


The same principle shall be applied should both the President and the Vice- 
President be unable to be present, or should both appointments be vacant at the 
same time. 

Section C. The Chambers 

Art. 14. The members of the Chambers constituted by virtue of Articles 26, 
27 and 29 of the Statute shall be appointed at a meeting of the full Court by an 
absolute majority of votes, regard being had for the purposes of this selection to 
any preference expressed by the judges, so far as the provisions of Article 9 of 
the Statute permit. 

The substitutes mentioned in Articles 26 and 27 of the Statute shall be appoint¬ 
ed in the same manner. Two judges shall also be chosen to replace any member of 
the Chamber for summary procedure who may be unable to sit. 

The election shall take place at the end of the ordinary session of the Court, 
and the period of appointment of the members elected shall commence on January 
1st of the following year. 

Nevertheless, after a new election of the whole Court the election shall take 
place at the beginning of the following session. The period of appointment shall 
commence on the date of election and shall terminate, in the case of the Chamber 
referred to in Article 29 of the Statute, at the end of the same year and, in the 
case of the Chambers referred to in Articles 26 and 27 of the Statute, at the end 
of the second year after the year of election. 

The Presidents of the Chambers shall be appointed at a sitting of the full 
Court. Nevertheless, the President of the Court shall, ex officio, preside over any 
Chamber of which he may be elected a member; similarly, the Vice-President of 
the Court shall, ex officio, preside over any Chamber of which he may be elected 
a member, provided that the President is not also a member. 

Art. 15. The special Chambers for labour cases and for communications and 
transit cases may not sit with a greater number than five judges. 

Except as provided in the second paragraph of the preceding Article, the 
composition of the Chamber for summary procedure may not be altered. 

Art. 16. Deputy-judges shall not be summoned to complete the special Cham¬ 
bers or the Chamber for summary procedure, unless sufficient judges are not avail¬ 
able to complete the number required. 

Section D. The Registry 

i 

Art. 17. The Court shall select its Registrar from amongst candidates pro¬ 
posed by members of the Court. 

The election shall be by secret ballot and by a majority of votes. In the 
event of an equality of votes, the President shall have a casting vote. 

The Registrar shall be elected for a term of seven years commencing on 
January 1st of the year following that in which the election takes place. He may 
be re-elected. 

Should the Registrar cease to hold his office before the expiration of the term 
above-mentioned, an election shall be held for the purpose of appointing a suc¬ 
cessor. 

Art. 18. Before taking up his duties, the Registrar shall make the following 
declaration at a meeting of the full Court: 

“I solemnly declare that I will perform the duties conferred upon me as 
Registrar of the Permanent Court of International Justice in all loyalty, discretion 
and good conscience.” 

The other members of the Registry shall make a similar declaration before 
the President, the Registrar being present. 

Art. 19. The Registrar shall reside within a radius of ten kilometres from the 
Peace Palace at The Hague. 

The main annual vacation of the Registrar shall not exceed two months. 

Art. 20. The staff of the Registry shall be appointed by the Court on pro¬ 
posals submitted by the Registrar. 

Art. 21. The Regulations for the Staff of the Registry shall be adopted by 
the President on the proposal of the Registrar, subject to subsequent approval 
by the Court. 

Art. 22. The Court shall determine or modify the organization of the Registry 
upon proposals submitted by the Registrar. On the proposal of the Registrar, the 
President shall appoint the member of the Registry who is to act for the Regis- 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 25 


trar in his absence or, in the event of his ceasing to hold his office, until a suc¬ 
cessor has been appointed. 

Art. 23. The registers kept in the archives shall be so arranged as to give 
particulars with regard to the following points amongst others: 

1. For each case or question, all documents pertaining to it and all action 
taken with regard to it in chronological order; all such documents shall bear the 
same file number and shall be numbered consecutively within the file; 

2. All decisions of the Court in chronological order, with references to the 
respective files; 

3. All advisory opinions given by the Court in chronological order, with ref¬ 
erences to the respective files; 

4. All notifications and similar communications sent out by the Court, with 
references to the respective files. 

Indexes kept in the archives shall comprise: 

1. A card index of names with necessary references; 

2. A card index of subject matter with like references. 

Art. 24. During hours to be fixed by the President the Registrar shall receive 
any documents and reply to any enquiries, subject to the provisions of Article 38 
of the present Rules and to the observance of professional secrecy. 

Art. 25. The Registrar shall be the channel for all communications to and 
from the Court. 

The Registrar shall ensure that the date of despatch and receipt of all com¬ 
munications and notifications may readily be verified. Communications and notifi¬ 
cations sent by post shall be registered. Communications addressed to the official 
representatives or to the agents of the parties shall be considered as having been 
addressed to the parties themselves. The date of receipt shall be noted on all 
documents received by the Registrar, and a receipt bearing this date and the num¬ 
ber under which the document has been registered shall be given to the sender, if 
a request to that effect be made. 

Art. 26. The Registrar shall be responsible for the archives, the accounts 
and all administrative work. He shall have the custody of the seals and stamps 
of the Court. He shall himself be present at all meeetings of the full Court and 
either he, or a person appointed to represent him with the approval of the Court, 
shall be present at all sittings of 1 the various Chambers; he shall be responsible for 
drawing up the minutes of the meetings. 

He shall further undertake all duties which may be laid upon him by the 
present Rules. 

The duties of' the Registry shall be set forth in detail in a List of Instructions 
to be submitted by the Registrar to the President for his approval. 

Heading 2.— Working of the Court 

t 

Art. 27. In the year following a new election of the whole Court the ordinary 
annual session shall commence on the fifteenth of January. 

If the day fixed for the opening of a session is regarded as a holiday at the 
place where the Court is sitting, the session shall be opened on the working day 
following. 

Art. 28. The list of cases shall be prepared and kept up to date by the 
Registrar under the responsibility of the President. The list for each session shall 
contain all questions submitted to the Court for an advisory opinion and all cases 
in regard to which the written proceedings are concluded, in the order in which 
the documents submitting each question or case have been received by the Registrar. 
If in the course of a session, a question is submitted to the Court or the written 
proceedings in regard to any case are concluded, the Court shall decide whether 
such question or case shall be added to the list for that session. 

The Registrar shall prepare and keep up to date extracts from the above list 
showing the cases to be dealt with by the respective Chambers. 

The Registrar shall also prepare and keep a list of cases for revision. 

Art. 29. During the sessions the dates and hours of sittings shall be fixed by 
the President. 

Art. 30. If at any sitting of the full Court it is impossible to obtain the pre¬ 
scribed quorum, the Court shall adjourn until the quorum is obtained. 

Art. 31. The Court shall sit in private to deliberate upon the decision of any 
case or on the reply to any question submitted to it. 

During the deliberation referred to in the preceding paragraph, only persons 
authorized to take part in the deliberation and the Registrar shall be present. No 


26 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


other person shall be admitted except by virtue of a special decision taken by the 
Court, having regard to exceptional circumstances. 

Every member of the Court who is present at the deliberation shall state his 
opinion together with the reasons on which it is based. 

The decision of the Court shall be based upon the conclusions adopted after 
final discussion by a majority of the members. 

Any member of the Court may request that a question which is to be voted 
upon shall be drawn up in precise terms in both the official languages and dis¬ 
tributed to the Court. A request to this effect shall be complied with. 

Chapter II. Procedure 
Heading 1. Contentious Procedure 
Section A. General Provisions 

Art. 32. The rules contained under this heading shall in no way preclude 
the adoption by the Court of such other rules as may be jointly proposed by the 
parties concerned, due regard being paid to the particular circumstances of each 
case. 

Art. 33. The Court shall fix time limits in each case by assigning a definite 
date for the completion of the various acts of procedure, having regard as far as 
possible to any agreement between the parties. 

The Court may extend time limits which it has fixed. It may likewise decide 
in certain circumstances that any proceeding taken after the expiration of a time 
limit shall be considered as valid. 

If the Court is not sitting the powers conferred upon it by this article shall be 
exercised by the President, subject to any subsequent decision of the Court. 

Art. 34. All documents of the written proceedings submitted to the Court 
shall be accompanied by not less than thirty printed copies certified correct. The 
President may order additional copies to be supplied. 

Section B. Procedure before the Court and before the special Chambers 

(Articles 26 and 27 of the Statute) 

I. Institution of Proceedings 

Art. 35. When a case is brought before the Court by means of a special 
agreement, the latter, or the document notifying the Court of the agreement, shall 
mention the addresses selected at the seat of the Court to which notices and com¬ 
munications intended for the respective parties are to be sent. 

In all other cases in which the Court has jurisdiction, the application shall 
include, in addition to an indication of the subject of the dispute and the names 
of the parties concerned, a succinct statement of facts, an indication of the claim 
and the address selected at the seat of the Court to which notices and communica¬ 
tions are to be sent. 

Should proceedings be instituted by means of an application, the first docu¬ 
ment sent in reply thereto shall mention the address selected at the seat of the 
Court to which subsequent notices and communications in regard to the case are 
to be sent. 

Should the notice of a special agreement, or the application, contain a request 
that the case be referred to one of the special Chambers mentioned in Articles 26 
or 27 of the Statute, such request shall be complied with, provided that the parties 
are in agreement. 

Similarly, a request to the effect that technical assessors be attached to the 
Court, in accordance with Article 27 of the Statute, or that the case be referred to 
the Chamber for summary procedure shall also be granted; compliance with the 
latter request is, however, subject to the condition that the case does not refer to 
any of the questions indicated in Articles 26 and 27 of the Statute. 

Art. 36. The Registrar shall forthwith communicate to all members of the 
Court special agreements or applications which have been notified to him. 

II. Written Proceedings 

Art. 37. Should the parties agree that the proceedings shall be conducted in 
French or in English, the documents constituting the written procedure shall be 
submitted only in the language adopted by the parties. 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 27 


In the absence of an agreement with regard to the language to be employed, 
documents shall be submitted in French or in English. 

Should the use of a language other than French or English be authorized, a 
translation into French or into English shall be attached to the original of each 
document submitted. 

The Registrar shall not be bound to make translations of documents sub¬ 
mitted in accordance with the above rules. 

In the case of voluminous documents the Court, or the President if the Court 
is not sitting, may, at the request of the party concerned, sanction the submission 
of translations of portions of documents only. 

Art. 38. The Court, or the President, if the Court is not sitting, may, after 
hearing the parties, order the Registrar to hold the cases and counter-cases of each 
suit at the disposal of the Government of any State which is entitled to appear 
before the Court. 

Art. 39. In cases in which proceedings have been instituted by means of a 
special agreement, the following documents may be presented in the order stated 
below, provided that no agreement to the contrary has been concluded between the 
parties: 

a case, submited by each party within the same limit of time; 

a counter-case, submitted by each party within the same limit of time; 

a reply, submitted by each party within the same limit of time. 

When proceedings are instituted - by means of an application, failing any 
agreement to the contrary between the parties, the documents shall be presented in 
the order stated below: 

the case by the applicant; 

the counter-case by the respondent; 

the reply by the applicant; 

the rejoinder by the respondent. 

Art. 40. Cases shall contain: 

1. a statement of the facts on which the claim is based; 

2. a statement o.f law; 

3. a statement of conclusions; 

4. a list of the document in support; these documents shall be attached to the 
case. 

Counter-cases shall contain: 

1. the affirmation or contestation of the facts stated in the case; 

2. a statement of additional facts, if any; 

3. a statement of law; 

4. conclusions based on the facts stated; these conclusions may include counter¬ 
claims, in so far as the latter come within the jurisdiction of the Court; 

5. a list of the document in support; these documents shall be attached to the 
counter-case. 

Art. 41. Upon the termination of the written proceedings the President shall 
fix a date for the commencement of the oral proceedings. 

Art. 42. The Registrar shall forward to each of the members of the Court, 

. a copy of all documents in the case as he receives them. 

III. Oral Proceedings 

Art. 43. In the case of a public sitting, the Registrar shall publish in the 
Press all necessary information as to the date and hour fixed. 

Art. 44. The Registrar shall arrange for the interpretation from French into 
English and from English into French of all statements, questions and answers 
which the Court may direct to be so interpreted. 

Whenever a language other than French or English is employed, either under 
the terms of the third paragraph of Article 39 of the Statute or in a particular in¬ 
stance, the necessary arrangements for translation into one of the two official 
languages shall be made by the party concerned. In the case of witnesses or ex¬ 
perts who appear at the instance of the Court, these arrangements shall be made 
by the Registrar. 

Art. 45. The Court shall determine in each case whether the representatives 
of the parties shall address the Court before or after the production of the evi¬ 
dence ; the parties shall, however, retain the right to comment on the evidence given. 

Art. 46. The order in which the agents, advocates or counsel, shall be called 
upon to speak shall be determined by the Court, failing an agreement between the 
parties on the subject. 


28 PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 


Art. 47. In sufficient time before the opening of the oral proceedings, each 
party shall inform the Court and the other parties of all evidence which it intends 
to produce, together with the names, Christian names, description and residence of 
witnesses whom it desires to be heard. 

It shall further give a general indication of the point or points to which the 
evidence is to refer. 

Art. 48. The Court may, subject to the provisions of Article 44 of the Statute, 
invite the parties to call witnesses, or may call for the production of any other 
evidence on points of fact in regard to which the parties are not in agreement. 

Art. 49. The Court, or the President should the Court not be sitting, shall, at 
the request of one of the parties or on its own initiative, take the neceessary steps 
for the examination of witnesses out of Court. 

Art. 50. Each witness shall make the following solemn declaration before 
giving his evidence in Court: 

“I solemnly declare upon my honour and conscience that I will speak the 
truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.” 

Art. 51. Witnesses shall be examined by the representatives of the parties 
under the control of the President. Questions may be put to them by the President 
and afterwards by the judges. 

Art. 52. The indemnities of witnesses who appear at the instance of the 
Court shall be paid out of the funds of the Court. 

Art. 53. Any report or record of an enquiry carried out at the request of the 
Court, under the terms of Article 50 of the Statute, and reports furnished to the 
Court by experts, in accordance with the same Article, shall be forthwith com¬ 
municated to the parties. 

Art. 54. A record shall be made of the evidence taken. The portion contain¬ 
ing the evidence of each witness shall be read over to him and approved by him. 

As regards the remainder of the oral proceedings, the Court shall decide in 
each case whether verbatim records of all or certain portions of them shall be 
prepared for its own use. 

Art. 55. The minutes mentioned in Article 47 of the Statute shall in par¬ 
ticular include: 

1. the names of the judges; 

2. the names of the agents, advocates and counsel; 

3. the names, Christian names, description and residence of witnesses heard; 

4. a specification of other evidence produced; 

5. any declarations made by the parties; 

6. all decisions taken by the Court during the hearing. 

Art. 56. Before the oral proceedings are concluded each party may present 
his bill of costs. 


IV. Interim Protection 


Art. 57. When the Court is not sitting, any measures for the preservation in 
the meantime of the respective rights of the parties shall be indicated by the 
President. 

Any refusal by the parties to conform to the suggestions of the Court or of 
the President, with regard to such measures, shall be placed in record. 

V. Intervention 


Art. 58. An application for permission to intervene, under the terms of 
Article 62 of the Statute, must be communicated to the Registrar at latest before 
the commencement of the oral proceedings. 

Nevertheless the Court may, in exceptional circumstances, consider an appli¬ 
cation submitted at a later stage. 

Art. 59. The application referred to in the preceding Article shall contain : 

1. a specification of the case in which the applicant desires to intervene; 

2. a statement of law and of fact justifying intervention; 

3. a list of the documents in support of the application; these documents 
shall be attached. 

Such application shall be immediately communicated to the parties, who shall 
send to the Registrar any observations which they may desire to make within a 
period to be fixed by the Court, or by the President, should the Court not be 
sitting. 


PERMANENT COURT OF INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE 29 


Art. 60. Any State desiring to intervene, under the terms of Article 63 of 
the Statute, shall inform the Registrar in writing at latest before the commence¬ 
ment of the oral proceedings. 

The Court, or the President if the Court is not sitting, shall take the necessary 
steps to enable the intervening State to inspect the documents in the case, in so far 
as they relate to the interpretation of the convention in question, and to submit its 
observations thereon to the Court. 


VI. Agreement 

Art. 61. If the parties conclude an agreement regarding the settlement of the 
dispute and give written notice of such agreement to the Court before the close of 
the proceedings, the Court shall officially record the conclusion of the agreement. 

Should the parties by mutual agreement notify the Court in writing that they 
intend to break off proceedings, the Court shall officially record the fact and pro¬ 
ceedings shall be terminated. 


VII. Judgment 

Art. 62. The judgment shall contain: 

1. the date on which it is pronounced; 

2. the names of the judges participating; 

3. the names and style of the parties; 

4. the names of the agents of the parties; 

5. the conclusions of the parties; 

6. the matters of fact; 

7. the reasons in point of law; 

8. the operative provisions of the judgment; 

9. the decision, if any, referred to in Article 64 of the Statute. 

The opinions of judges who dissent from the judgment, shall be attached 
thereto should they express a desire to that effect. 

Art. 63. After having been read in open Court the text of the judgment shall 
forthwith be communicated to all parties concerned and to the Secretary-General 
of the League of Nations. 

Art. 64. The judgment shall be regarded as taking effect on the day on 
which it is read in open Court, in accordance With Article 58 of the Statute. 

Art. 65. A collection of the judgments of the Court shall be printed and 
published under the responsibility of the Registrar. 

VIII. Revision 

Art. 66. Application for revision shall be made in the same form as the appli¬ 
cation mentioned in article 40 of the Statute. 

It shall contain : 

1. the reference to the judgment impeached; 

2. the fhct on which the application is based; 

3. a list of the documents in support; these documents shall be attached. 

It shall be the duty of the Registrar to give immediate notice of an application 
for revision to the other parties concerned. The latter may submit observations 
within a time limit to be fixed by the Court, or by the President should the Court 
not be sitting. 

If the judgment impeached was pronounced by the full Court, the application 
for revision shall also be dealt with by the full Court. If the judgment im¬ 
peached was pronounced by one of the Chambers mentioned in Articles 26, 27 or 
29 of the Statute, the application for revision shall be dealt with by the same Cham¬ 
ber. The provisions of Article 13 of the Statute shall apply in all cases. 

If the Court, under the third paragraph of Article 61 of 1 the Statute, makes a 
special order rendering the admission of the application conditional upon previous 
compliance with the terms of the judgment impeached, this condition shall be im¬ 
mediately communicated to the applicant by the Registrar, and proceedings in re¬ 
vision shall be stayed pending receipt by the Registrar of proof of previous com¬ 
pliance with the original judgment and until such proof shall have been accepted by 
the Court. 


Section C. Summary Procedure 

Art. 67. Except as provided under the present section the rules for procedure 
before the full Court shall apply to summary procedure. 






































































































































































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